The photoshopped thread!

As everyone knows (or should know by now), post processing plays a very big role in digital photography. While it is not the ultimate save-all, it can make or break an image. Generally, without PS, your images will have less pop and not stand out as much. so this is a thread to show your photoshop works, as a before and after! I'll start it off. I'm very interested in seeing other people's photoshop stuff, and I know at least a couple people here do quite a bit of work with their images.

Re: The photoshopped thread!

My shoe, originally shot with my brother's Canon S2 IS, the image seemed washed out, partly due to the sand in the water. Fixed the levels with Fireworks MX, printed with PIXMA IP3000, and then printed with a shutterfly coupon code for a 16x20

Re: The photoshopped thread!

I don't have Photoshop, I just haven't been able to force myself to spend the big bucks for it. But the best tutorials and the best plugins are written for Photoshop. I seem to get a mental block when I try to use Paint Shop Pro and either I end up with a garish ghost of the photo I used to have and then I leave it as it was from the camera. At some point I will finally bite the bullet and buy the expensive program and finally learn how to use it. Frustrating.
I also have a purist aversion to using Photoshop to "fix" my inability to capture what my vision was, or even worse in my mind make something more than what my vision was(horror!). I have a hard time even cropping a photo because it wasn't what was in the lens at the time of capture. I have to get over this, I have many "negatives" that have plenty of potential, but I have neither the skill or the mental game to make them what they could be. My latest post to the Critique forum I tried a little PP(a lot in my mind) and I think I got something a lot more pleasing than the original.

Rule books are paper they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal. --Ernie Gann--What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. --Oscar Wilde--

Re: The photoshopped thread!

alison.... I want to know how you textured that skin the way you did. I've been dying to know how that's done, but couldn't find any info on it. Please do tell. Amazing portrait too, the focus is dead on and those eyes just jump out at you. i think some selective coloring could go a long way with this one as well. mind if i post an edit of your image?

Re: The photoshopped thread!

Hi all .. my little contribution to this interesting thread! Personally, I prefer the subtle approach - basically if you can tell it's been photoshopped, it's probably been over-done imo (unless of course it's a fantasy photo of some kind). Here is a before and after example, taken on the Greek island of Santorini this June. All I did was 1) correct the verticals, 2) crop, 3) lighten slightly the sky and the more shadowy area under the arch, 4) a very little unsharp masking. The idea (conceived at the time of taking) was to view the cathedral through the arch. More critically, the cross on the top could not actually be seen from this angle, so I 5) photoshopped the cross (taken from a different angle) onto the top of the dome.

Re: The photoshopped thread!

Originally Posted by livin4lax09

alison.... I want to know how you textured that skin the way you did. I've been dying to know how that's done, but couldn't find any info on it. Please do tell. Amazing portrait too, the focus is dead on and those eyes just jump out at you. i think some selective coloring could go a long way with this one as well. mind if i post an edit of your image?

It's a kodak airbrush filter Brent. I only click on the default settings.
No I don't mind if you edit my image Brent. Thank you for asking first. I really appreciate it.

Here's what I do...
#1. I do any normal editing first, e.g. levels, contrast, and her finger was shading her bottom tooth and making it appear grey so I used the lasso tool to outline the tooth next to it, feathered it by 1 or 2 and moved it across to the grey tooth. I then erased what wasn't needed and used my blending options to turn the opacity down on the tooth a little.
Then I flattened the image.
#2. Then...Layer > Duplicate Layer > Filter > Kodak Airbrush Filter > Erase tool @ 100% to the eyes, eye lashes, hair, teeth, lips, hands, clothing > Erase tool @ 50% to eye brows, crease of eye lids and around nostril area.
Flatten image.
#3. Layer > Duplicate Layer > Image > Adjustments > Photo Filter > Warming Filter (85) > Erase eyes (Iris and whites), teeth, and anything else that is supposed to be white, but now has a yellow/orange tint due to the warm filter.
#4. Lassoo Iris > feather by 1 or 2 > apply a little USM (sometimes I don't bother with this stage. Sometimes I just apply a sharpen for web, via an action, to the whole image.)

I love having fun with different backgrounds too
The pic of the twins was actually taken using my Sony Cybershot DSC-P10. I turned the flash off and got them to stand near a window

Re: The photoshopped thread!

If you all could see me you would see me a) bowing before you - such impressive work!! and b) green with envy! When I grow up I want to be as good as you all are at PS!!! :thumbsup: I wish there was a class near me that I could take!!!!! I did buy a book - it hasn't helped me yet - but I am considering opening it!

Re: The photoshopped thread!

Originally Posted by ladybugamanda

If you all could see me you would see me a) bowing before you - such impressive work!! and b) green with envy! When I grow up I want to be as good as you all are at PS!!! :thumbsup: I wish there was a class near me that I could take!!!!! I did buy a book - it hasn't helped me yet - but I am considering opening it!

More than anything else it just takes getting your feet wet and playing around with it. Just learning a few tools will help you a bunch.
Greg

I am like Barney Fife, I have a gun but Andy makes me keep the bullet in my pocket..

Re: The photoshopped thread!

Re: The photoshopped thread!

Awww thank you so much Greg. Your too kind

Here's one I did only yesterday.
#1 SOOC which I thought was pretty cool hehe.
#2 Rotated, cropped, healing brush to shadows, cloned out the hair in front of her right eye, got rid of the lens glare on her right eye. And of course the wonderful kodak arbrush filter